Stefanos Tsitsipas advances to second round of Shanghai Masters

After slipping to No. 87 mid-year, Tsitsipas has worked his way up to 43. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Stefanos Tsitsipas beat qualifier Kimmer Coppejans 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday in a first-round match at the Shanghai Masters, continuing his slow climb back up the ATP rankings.

Tsitsipas, who reached a career-high No. 3 ranking in 2021, had to win two qualifying matches to get into the main draw at last week’s Japan Open, where he lost in the second round. At his previous tournament, the U.S. Open, he lost in the fourth round to eventual finalist Ben Shelton.

After slipping to No. 87 mid-year, the two-time major finalist has worked his way up to 43.

Australian qualifier Bernard Tomic, also attempting a much more daunting move in the rankings, was scheduled to play Matteo Arnaldi in a later first-round match Thursday.

The 33-year-old Tomic, who has had numerous off-court issues in his career, had to qualify for the Shanghai tournament, his first spot in an ATP 1000 main draw in seven years.

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The former world No. 16, whose ranking dropped to as low as 825 four years ago, scrapped his way back into a top-level tournament after beating Kazakhstan’s Timofey Skatov 7-5 6-4 in the final round of qualifying in Shanghai.

It was Tomic’s 19th victory in his past 26 matches. Tomic, who has said 2026 will likely be his last year on tour, is currently ranked 185.

The top-seeded players in the Shanghai tournament, including U.S. Open champion Alexander Zverev and third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, received first-round byes and were not scheduled to play until the weekend or later.

No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew from the Shanghai tournament earlier this week and will take the rest of the season off due to a right knee injury.